Worst NHL penalty of the season? Oh yeah. Definitely.

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Worst NHL penalty of the season? Oh yeah. Definitely.

NHL referees blow calls on a regular basis. But sometimes the botch jobs are spectacular. And during Wednesday's games between the Capitals and Red Wings, we saw one of the worst blown calls in recent memory.

Each NHL season has its share of botched calls from referees. We know going in that, as mere mortals, they're bound to make errors trying to make sense of a lightning-fast game. However, some blown calls are so egregious, they stand out for years afterward. And one of those calls went down Wednesday night during the game between the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings. As a matter of fact, this might not have been one of the worst penalty calls of the year. It might be the worst in NHL history.

It was early in the first period in Washington when Capitals goalie Braden Holtby left his crease and went behind the net. As he tried to get back into position, Holtby tripped over his own skates – and the Red Wings pounced immediately, with Drew Miller grabbing the puck and firing it into the Caps' net.

However – and inexplicably – the officiating duo of Mike Leggo and Ghislain Hebert decided the goal would not count and that Wings center Luke Glendening deserved a goalie interference penalty. As you can see, he deserved nothing of the sort:

Again, we all know mistakes get made out there. But this one is particularly embarrassing. The Wings went on to win the game 4-2, but that's no excuse for a call that boggles the mind to this degree.